Air-cooled footwear

ABSTRACT

Ventilated (air-cooled) shoes and other footwear having a plurality of crosswise passages opening to the outside of the sole portion on the sides of the footwear, and in which each of the crosswise passages has at least one upright channel opening on the top of the sole portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to footwear, and in particular, relates tofootwear having ventilation in the sole area. On footwear with anynumber of layers of the sole, the air passages connect the inner sole tothe outside air.

2. Description of the Related Art

Historically shoes have very little ventilation; heat is built up insidethe shoe during walking, jogging or performing some physical activitiessuch as playing basketball, football, tennis, etc. Many types of shoesand other footwear are made partially or completely of plastics andother materials that are impermeable or which impede the flow of air. Asis well-known, the foot releases moisture, especially during sports andother vigorous activities. To avoid excessive humidity in the shoe,which can lead to discomfort, odor and foot diseases, it is desirable toprovide ventilation in shoes, especially those used for running, sports,exercising and the like.

Prior efforts to address this problem include the ventilating footwearof Gallegos (U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,264), having apertures in the heel,sole and/or midsole in communication with an air compartment. There maybe air channels in the top side of the sole or midsole directing airfrom the compartment to beneath the wearer's foot.

The patent of Deem et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,266) provides an aircirculating shoe that has least one vent in a shank incorporated in thesole assembly, as well as a plurality of air circulation channels in thesole assembly and ventilation holes in the footbed, which is over awaterproof layer.

The shoe ventilation system of Van Noy et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,248)has at least one opening in the shoe upper and at least one guidingsurface over the opening, oriented so that airflow is directed into theopening as the shoe moves.

Many of the prior shoe ventilation systems have complicated means ofdelivering air to the foot, or have forced air delivery means, forexample by providing a blast of air when the person wearing the shoesteps on the inner sole of the shoe.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide footwear havingventilation. It is a further object of the invention that may have anynumber of air passages connecting the inner sole to outside air.

Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from thefollowing disclosure and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein is ventilated (air-cooled) shoes and other footwearhaving a plurality of crosswise passages opening to the outside of thesole portion on the sides of the footwear, and in which each of thecrosswise passages has at least one upright channel opening on the topof the sole portion.

Other objects and features of the inventions will be more fully apparentfrom the following disclosure and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a first embodiment of footwear of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the footwear in FIG. 1 as viewedfrom the top.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a second embodiment of the footwear ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the footwear of FIG. 3 as viewedfrom the bottom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS THEREOF

The present invention provides cooling to the feet by having air ventholes in the sole of the shoe or other footwear. These air vent holesare preferably around the entire side surface of the sole or base of theshoe. The air vents interconnect with other air vent holes inside thesole of the shoe, the sole portion of the shoe that comes into contactwith the foot of the person wearing the shoe. This allows air to enterthrough the side air ports which then transmit the air into the sole ofthe shoe in contact with the person's foot. The air vents which arelocated in the front of the shoe in the preferred embodiment alsoprovide an air ramming effect when the person is walking or runningforward. This ramming effect forces air through the front air ventswhich in turn forces air into the vents that come into contact with theperson's foot. Unlike some of the prior ventilated footwear, theinvention herein does not have air compartments separate from thepassages.

Referring in greater detail to the figures, the footwear 10 of theinvention comprises an upper 12; and a sole portion 14 connected to theupper 12. The sole portion, which may comprise a simple sole or multiplelayers forming the bottom of the shoe as is known in the art, has a top16 and a bottom 18, a front side 20 and a back side 22, and a right side24 and a left side 26 as known in the art.

In the various embodiments of the invention, there are through passagesextending completely through the sole portion 14, and openings to thetop of the sole from the through passages. In the first embodiment(FIGS. 1-2), these through passages comprise crosswise passages 28 thathave at least one opening to a side of the sole portion, and uprightchannels 36 that extend from the crosswise passages 28 to the top of thesole portion 14, opening to the interior of the shoe. In the secondembodiment (FIGS. 3-4), the through passages comprise upright throughchannels 44 between the bottom 18 and the top 16 of the sole portion 14.

In particular, in the first embodiment there is a plurality of crosswisepassages 28 in the sole portion 14, including a front crosswise passage30, a rear crosswise passage 32 and at least one middle crosswisepassage 34. Preferably there are at least four middle crosswise passages34. Depending on the shoe structure, each of these crosswise passages 28may be located within a single layer of the sole portion 14, or may belocated between layers forming the sole portion 14. Different crosswisepassages 28 may be in different vertical locations in the sole portion14 as is desired.

Each of the crosswise passages 28 opens to the outside of the soleportion 14 on the right side 24 and on the left side 26 of the soleportion 14, and extends between the right side 24 and left side 26. Eachof the crosswise passages 28 has at least one upright channel 36 havingan opening 42 on the top 16 of the sole portion 14, and most preferablyeach crosswise passage 28 has at least three upright channels 36.

Preferably the sole portion 14 further has at least one front lengthwisepassage 38 extending from the front crosswise passage 30 to the front 20of the sole portion 14 and opening into the front crosswise passage 30and on the front 20 of the sole portion 14. At least one rear lengthwisepassage 40 may also be provided extending from the rear crosswisepassage 32 to the back 22 of the sole portion 14, and opening into therear crosswise passage 32 and on the back 22 of sole portion 14. Inaddition air passages may be located anywhere along the sole surface ofthe shoe.

The crosswise passages 28, front lengthwise passages 38, rear lengthwisepassages 40 and upright channels 36 are formed as is known in the art ofplastics manufacture, for example by molding or other known means.

In the second embodiment of the invention herein, the through passagescomprise upright through channels 44 that extend between the top 16 andthe bottom 18 of the sole portion 14 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Each ofthese upright through channels 44 has a lower opening (air vent) 46 andan upper opening (air vent) 48 as shown in FIG. 3.

While the invention has been described as two separate embodiments, alsoincluded within the scope of the invention are combinations (not shown)of the two embodiments having both crosswise passages 28 and uprightthrough channels 44.

While the footwear of the invention is preferably only worn during dryconditions or in semi wet conditions, it is within the scope of theinvention to incorporate one way air valves (not shown) in the airpassages as are known in the art. Footwear of the invention includes alltypes of sport shoes, for example, running, jogging, and training shoes,boots, and any other type of footwear. Thus, the footwear of theinvention may be any type having a sole or other foot covering acting asa sole, including water socks. While there are water socks that haveholes in the bottom extending into the inner sole of the shoe, theinvention herein, with its horizontal passageways reduces thepossibility of an object coming into contact with the foot of the personwearing the shoe while still allowing water to evacuate the shoe.

The crosswise and lengthwise passages, the upright channels and theupright through channels are preferably similarly formed as is known inthe art and are of a similar diameter, but the diameter may be varied ofsome or all of these without departing from the invention herein. Mostpreferably they are about ½ inch in diameter or smaller, so long aslarge enough for air passage. They can be any shape, but a circulardiameter is preferred.

While the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, it will be appreciated that numerous variations,modifications, and embodiments are possible, and accordingly, all suchvariations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as beingwithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. Footwear comprising: a) an upper; and b) a sole portion connected tothe upper, the sole portion having a top and a bottom, a front, a back,and a right side and a left side, the sole portion having a plurality ofthrough passages opening to the top of the sole portion and to a side ofthe sole portion selected from the right and left sides, the front, theback, and the bottom of the sole portion.
 2. The footwear according toclaim 1, where the through passages comprise a plurality of crosswisepassages including a front crosswise passage, a rear crosswise passageand at least one middle crosswise passage, each of the crosswisepassages opening to the outside of the sole portion on the right sideand on the left side and extending between the right side and left side,and each of the crosswise passages having at least one upright channelopening on the top of the sole portion.
 3. The footwear of claim 2,wherein the sole portion further has at least one lengthwise passageextending from the front crosswise passage to the front of the soleportion and opening into the front crosswise passage and on the front ofthe sole portion.
 4. The footwear of claim 2, wherein the sole portionfurther has at least one lengthwise passage extending from the rearcrosswise passage to the back of the sole portion and opening into therear crosswise passage and on the back of the sole portion.
 5. Thefootwear of claim 2, wherein there are at least four middle crosswisepassages.
 6. The footwear of claim 2, wherein each crosswise passage hasat least three upright channels.
 7. The footwear of claim 1, wherein thethrough passages comprise upright through channels that extend betweenthe top of the sole portion and the bottom of the sole portion. 8.Footwear comprising: a) an upper; and b) a sole portion connected to theupper, the sole portion having a top and a bottom, a front, a back, anda right side and a left side, the sole portion having a plurality ofcrosswise passages including a front crosswise passage, a rear crosswisepassage and at least one middle crosswise passage, each of the crosswisepassages opening to the outside of the sole portion on the right sideand on the left side and extending between the right side and left side,and each of the crosswise passages having at least one upright channelopening on the top of the sole portion.
 9. Footwear according to claim8, wherein the sole portion further has at least one lengthwise passageextending from the front crosswise passage to the front of the sole andopening into the front crosswise passage and on the front of the soleportion.
 10. The footwear of claim 8, wherein the sole portion furtherhas at least one lengthwise passage extending from the rear crosswisepassage to the back of the sole portion and opening into the rearcrosswise passage and on the back of the sole portion.
 11. The footwearof claim 8, wherein there are at least four middle crosswise passages.12. The footwear of claim 8, wherein each crosswise passage has at leastthree upright channels.
 13. Footwear comprising: a) an upper; and b) asole portion connected to the upper, the sole portion having a top and abottom, a front, a back, and a right side and a left side, the soleportion having upright through channels that extend between the top ofthe sole portion and the bottom of the sole portion.